Dispensing mechanism



Aug- 9, 1932- H. R. BRAND 1,870,889

nIsPENsNG MECHANISM Filed Nov. 7. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q S M mJk Ill JN. ffl/0o, M L 4 ,4 r i R a mm m 1,1.3 n R m m w A A mm l Y n Q Q .www R Aj Ir Q IU Mm mm Q. A Nm, u ew mh w w mw w lhi m Nw f s 1L H. R. BRAND DISBENSING MECHANI SM Aug. 9, 1932.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOW. 7, 1929 INVENTQR' v HARRYm/Ja @Pfl/V0 Patented Aug. 9, 1932 HARRY RUSSELL BRAND; or NEW YORK,l N. Y.

DS'PENSINTG MECHANISM Application led November 7, 1929; Serial No'. 405,355.

My' invention relates to dispensing mechanisms and particularly to means for dispensing' measuredvolumes of material from a receptacle, n

,1, ein object of my invention. is to provide a valve mechanism which Will Withdraw a fluid from a reservoir in portions of uniform volume regardless of variations in the head of the4 tluid in the reservoir and Which will disio charge each of said portions positively.

AV further object is to provide in association with the valve mechanism, means for agitating the contents of the reservoir,sothat theportions Withdrawn from the reservoir if.' will be of substantially uni-form specific gravity. y

rlhe present invention is a variant of that disclosed in my copending application Serial No; 322,874, filed November 8O,l 1928, andit 2o is particularly adapted for use in automatic griddle cake machines, such, for exam-ple, a's that disclosed in my copending' application Serial No. 299,582, iiledAugust 14, 1928. In such machines it is desirable to discharge batter in` portions of uniform volume and specific gravity upon a griddle, and my invention is particularly adapted to fulfillthese desiderata. A One of the difficulties encountered in auto- 11"? matic griddle cake machines is that of keeping the batter reservoir cool so as Vto prevent the batter from spoiling and alson of `maintaining the'batter-atsuch constant temperaturev that it Will not vary in consistency. l It is an object of the present invention toprovide in'connection Withfthe batter reservoir andthe valve mechanism a. cooling vsystem by which the' batter may `be main-'tained` at a uniform temperature regardless of surround- 4'@ ingteniperature conditions; l

Thefparticulai" machinereferred to in my copendinkr application- Serial No. 299,582, is so arranged that when the batter is exhausted or practically exhausted-the reservoir may be 4f? removed from the machine and refilled or replaced with another reservoir. In removing theI reservoir from the m-achine,fiti`s desirable to move the dispensing" valve therewith. It is an object ofthp present invention to provide a dispensing .valve attached to a baltter reservoir in Vwhich the valve may be readily disconnected from. its operating means and as readily connected thereto.

are ivrf olf-FICE 7i-ththe above named objects-in View and i others WhichWill-appear hereinafter I shall now describe a preferred embodiment of'may invention and. shall thereafter pointent the novelty andv scope of the invention in the claims.VV l y In. the accompanying drawings: l Figure 1 is a view in vertical section illus.- trating my improved valve applied to a batter reservoir, togetherl with mechanismfor operating the valve, the section being taken substantially-on the lin-e 1 1 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2' is a fragmentary vievs7 in transverse A section with a plunger element removed, the section being taken. .substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. i 4,

- Fig. 8 is a plan vievsT of the valve and' valve mechanisml With all but a 'smallV portion of the batter reservoir removed and Y F ign-Ll is a View in section of a clutch mechanism, the section being taken on the line 4%4 of Fig. 1. y v

As shown particularly in Fig. 1, the batter reservoir 10- is provided with spaced double Walls 11 and 12 respectively, Which are connected together at theirupper ends. At the bottom of the reservoir saidf Walls are se-v cu'red tol an' annular flange' 13 formed on a base member 14. The meinberll is secured to avalve casing 15 With-an intervening'strip of packing material 16vv to seal the joint there'- betWeen. The valve casing 1'5 is provided 'ateaehside with sleeve portions 17 adapted to slide'upon studs'or rods 18 projecting from the frame 19 of the griddl'ecake mach-ine.

l The batter reservoir is closed at thel topby means ofalid 20. Inl order to keep the batter suitably agitated, I provide a series of blades 21 which project from a hub sleeve 22, mounted to turn on a bearing sleeve 23 vertically disposed in the middle of the reservoir. EX-

ceive the upper end of the shaft 24. VA cross pin 29 secured to the blockl within the recess, rests in a transverse notch 30 in the endV of the shaft 24, so that rotation of said shaft will causetlie blades21` toV revolve and agi-` tate the contents of the reservoir. It will be obvious that bythis arrangement, the hub 22 Vbearing theagitator blades may bey lifted out of the reservoir whenever desired, and lwhen the hub is dropped-into place over the bearingY sleeve 23, the cross pin 29 will find itsl place in the slot 30'.

kSecured to the lower end of the shaft 24 which projects through the base member 14, is a pinion31. The latter is driven through a vsuitable train of gears 32 by a pinion 33 fixed upon a power shaft 34. The shaft 34 is journaled in a bracket 35 carried by the frame of the machine. Since the shaft 34 is constantly rotatingrthe `blades 21 will be re*- volved through'the batter in the reservoiry and will keep the batte-r constantly stirred. The gearing, however, is so chosen that the motion of the blades 21 will be comparatively slow. Y The valve casing 15 is formed with a hori- Y zontal cylindrical valve'chamber 36 in which a valve sleeve 37 is adapted to rotate. Fitted to reciprocate in the valve sleeve isa plunger 38. The base member 14 of the reservoir `has an outlet port 39 which leads outY from the bottom of an annular recess 40 formedin the base member 14. Within the recess I provide a set ofl small agitator blades 41 which are secured to the hub sleeve 22 and serve to keep adjacent the outlet port.

The valve casing 15 has an intake opening 42 which' registers with the port 39 through a suitable opening in the packing material 16, thus, providing communication between the reservoir and the valve chamber 36. Also leading out of the valve chamber 36 at a point diametrically opposite the intake opening is a discharge opening 43. At all times one or the other of these ports is closed by the valve sleeve 37. VThe latter is provided with a slot`44 in the cylindrical wall thereof. rlhis slot is'adapted tov register lwith the openings`42` and43 but it is somewhat less than 180 degrees in extent, so that it can uncover the contents of the reservoir properly stirred y only one of said openings at a time. When 'the sleeve is in the normal position shown in Fig. 2 both the intake port 42 and the discharge `port 43 will be closed thereby, but when the sleeve is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the intake port will first be opened to the interior of the sleeve valve and rthen before the sleeve valve has moved through .f

angle of 180 degrees, the intake opening will be closed and the discharge opening will thereafter be opened. It will be understood that the slot 44 may be continuous, but as shown in the drawings it is preferably interrupted by narrow connect-ing walls.

The Vsleeve valve 37 is prevented from moving endwise toward the left as shown in Figxglpbymeans of'a flange ring 45 secured to theouter end of the valve casing 15. The opposite end of the sleeve valve is formed with notches to engagea spider 47 secured to a sleeve 48 j ournaled in a suitable bearing in the frame 19.

The plunger 38 is provided with a rod 49 which slides in the sleeve 48. When the plunger is innormal position Ashown in Fig.

l1 it bears against anz outer end wall 50 in the sleeve valve 37. This end wall slightly oversteps the slot 44, as shown in Fig. 1, so that there will be no possibility of trapping any material in thesleeve valv'e when the plunger is moved therein against vthe end wall 50.

To rotate the sleeve valve, I provide a pair of miter pinions 51 secured respectively to the sleeve 48 and to a vertical shaft 52. The Vlatter is suitably journaled in the bracket 35. Secured to the lower end of the shaft 52 is a spur pinion 53 which engages a driving gear 54. The latter isy mounted to turn freely on the shaft 34, but may be connected thereto by clutch mechanism presently to be described.

Mounted in the bracket 35 is a second vertical shaft 55 to the lower end of which is 'fixed va spur pinion 56 meshing with the driving justable in a slot V58 in the crank 56a. This slot is disposed radially to the axis of shaft 55 and the block 57 isheld in the desired adj ustment therein by means of opposed adjusting screws 59. A crank pin 60 is screwed into the slide vblock 57 and provides a pivotal connection for one end of a link 61. The opposite endof thev link is pivotally connected to the plunger rod 49 by means of a removable hinged pin 62, the latter being provided with suitable springmeans 63 to hold it in place; The link 61 includes a turn buckle 64 by which its length may be adjusted.

The clutch `mechanism above referred to is shown clearly in Figs. 1 and4. Keyed to the shaft 34 is a clutch collar 65 formed with notches in its periphery. This member rotates withina recess in the hub 54a ofthe driving gear 54.V Mounted to slide radially razones in said hub isa pin 66 which is 'formed at its inner end with a tooth adapted to'engage oneA of the notches in the clutch member 65, thus clutching the driving gear to the shaft The clutch pin 66,is carried byv one arm of a three-armed lever 67 pivoted on the hub 54a;` A. second arm` 67a of this lever is normally engaged by an arm 68 of a clutch release lever.v The third arm 675 of a lever 7 normally bears againstl the hub 54 as a stop,l as shown in Fig. 4. A spring acting ontlie three-armed lever 67 urges the pin 66 into engagement with the member 65,'but such engagementV is normally prevented by engagement of arm 67a with the arm 68. The arm `68` is pivoted on a stud 69 lixed to the trame 19 and is formed `with an opposed eX- teusion 72 to which an operating rod 73 is connected. A spring 7 4 acting on the extension 72` tends to draw the arm 68 out of engagement with the lever 67, so that when the rod 73 is moved in the direction of the arrow permitting such disengagement the spring 70 will move the pin 66 into engagement with a notch inthe clutch member 65, 'thereby conneet-ing the hub 54a to shaft 34. As long as the arm 68 is retracted by spring 74 the driving gear 54will be clutched to the shaft 34. lV hen, however, the rod 73 is pulled to bring the arm68 to theposition shown in Fig; 4, the lever 67 twill strike said arm 68 upon completion of its revolution withdrawing the pin 66 from the clutchmember 65.

To facilitate withdrawal of the pin Vl provide on. the hub of the driving gear a disk cam 7.5 which has a spiral contour with an inclined shoulder 76 connecting the outer and inner ends of the spiral. Pivoted on the frame` 19 adjacent the cam is a lever 77 which bears a.` roller 78 adapted to engage the periphery of the cam 75 under the pull of a strong spring 7 9;, -Just as the lever 67 a is about tostrike the arm 68the roller 78 rides down the incline 76 tendingy to advance the cam 75 and hub 54a with. respect to the driving shaft 34. Conseq-uently, the driving gear 54 by over-riding the clutch member 65 will releasefthe pin 66 and permit itto beV withdrawn freely.

However, it is not desirable tohave the roller 78 overdrive the camat each rotation thereof while the arm 68 is retracted because this would produce an objectionable irregularity in the rotation of the driving gear 54 and the parts operated thereby. Mechanism is,.therel`ore, provided for holding the roller 7:8 out of engagement with the shoulder 76 except when thearm 68 is in position to enthc arm 67a; To this end the lever 77 has an angularly disposed arm 80 which bears a pin'8l.. `llhen the ,arm 77 is moved outward by engagement with the cam 7 5, the

pin 8l will clear the end of a latch arm 82.

The latter ismounted on the stud 69V and has rearwardextension 83 connected by aispring 84 tothefextension 7 2.4 The spring 84 presses the arm 83 against a pin 85 on extension 72, thus providing a flexible connection` between thefarm 82 and the-arm 68.v It the rod 73 is released to perm-it spring 74'to retract the arm 68-the arm 82 will be pressed-against the pin 81. As the cam 75 swings the arm 77,0utward, the pin 8l is also swung outward until the arm 82I snaps past the pin 81 and the. end of the arm 82 then lies in thepath of the pin preventing it from returning ,"to. normal po sition.` Thus the lever 77 is held outwardV so that the roller7 8 cannot ride down the inclined shoulder 76. But, when the rod 73 is pulled to restore the arm 68l to. engaging position, the arm 82 will befpu'lled out of engagementwith the pin 8l,y so thatA the roller 78 will be free to ride down to shoulder 76 and relieve lateral pressure on the pin 66 while the latter is being withdrawn from en- V gagement with the clutch member 65.

The operation of the dispencing mechanism is as follows: vWhen the pull rodV 73 is releasedv toclutch VAthe driving gear 54 to the shaft 34,'the sleeve valve v37- will be ro tated in the direction of the arrow, in Fig. 2, so that slot 44 will uncover the ports 39 and 42. it the same time the plunger 38 will be moved toward the right in Fig. l, drawing-batter through said ports and the slot 44 into the sleeve valve V37. As the latter rotates it eventuallycuts oil the intake portV 44 and immediately thereafter opens the' discharge port 45. The'plunger V38 then moves inthe opposite direction and forces the batter out of the sleeve valve through the discharge port. The particular mechanism illustrated isv adapted to .discharge three portions ot batter for each completerotation ot the driving gear 54. In other words, there is a three-to-one. gear ratio between the driving gear 54 and the pinions 53 and 56. Thus a momentary release of the pull rod 73 will causeA the sleeve valve to make three complete rotations and the plunger to make three completereciprocation-S, the partsthen` coming to rest in theposition shown in Figs; l andy 2. It the pull rod 73 is maintained in released position, the sleeve valve and'plunger will continue to operate and will not'stop when the rod 73 is'retractedv until they have completed the cycle of three operations which they were performing at the time the rodwas pulled'. Y v

The agitator blades 2l and 41 will continue to rotate slowly whether or not the valve mechanism'isbeing operatedthu-s keeping'the batter constantly stirred andat unitormfconi at the end of its discharge stroke it will bearY against the plate 50 and ca usejcomplete discharge of the batterdrawn into the valve pipe 89 which rises to apoint close to the top of the reservoir andy discharges through a pipe 90 leading out of the bottom of the valve casing. Y

When it is desired to remove the reservoi from the machine, the pipes 89 and 90 are disconnected and the hinge pin 62 is withdrawn from the link 61; then the reservoir and the valve casing may be drawn olf the studs 18. The sleeve valve will be drawn out of engagement with the spideror clutch member 47 and be drawn off with the valve casing, and the plunger will also be drawn off with the sleeve valve. When restoring the reservoir to position, the. studs 18 act as guides to bring the plunger rod into alinement with the bore of sleeve 48. Suitable latch means (not shown) may be provided for locking the valve casing on the studs 18. Y

While I have described above a specific embodiment it will be understood that this is to be taken as illustrative and not limitative of my invention, and that I may make various changes in form, construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as pointed out in the following claims:

I claim:

. 1. A dispensing mechanism', comprising a Y casing formed with a cylindrical valve chamber having an intakeport and an outlet port, a sleeve valve rotatable in the chamber and `normally' closing both of said ports, said 'sleeve valve being closed at one end and having a slot therein adapted to connect said ports successively to the interior of the sleeve, a plunger reciprocable in the sleeve valve, and means for rotating the sleeve valve and reciprocating the plunger in mutually timed relation, the slot being of such extent that'the intake port will be fully open during substantiallv the entire outward stroke of the plunger and the outlet port will be fully open during substantially the entire inward stroke of the plunger.

' 2. A dispensing mechanism, comprising a Vcasing formed with a cylindrical valve chamber having an intake port and an ouelet port .disposed respectivelyl in diametrically opposed relation, a sleeve valve rotatable in `said chamber andrhaving a slot therein and lying in the plane of said ports, a transverse er reciprocable in the sleeve valve toward ,y

and from said wall, and means for recipro-y cating the plunger to and 'from said wall in timed relation to the rotation of -the'sleeve, the slot being of such extent that` the intake port will be fully open during substantially the entire outward stroke of the plunger and the outlet port lwill be fully open during substantially the entire -inward stroke of the plunger.

ing connected Vthereto and formed with a cylindrical valve chamber, the casing being also formed with an intake port connecting said chamber and said., reservoir, and an outlet 3. In combination, a reservoir, a valve casport leading fromsaid chamber, a sleeve valve rotatable in said chamber and having a slot therein adapted to open and close said ports successively but not simultaneously to the interior of the sleeve valve, a plunger reciprocable in the sleeve valve, "actuating mechanism for rotating theplunger, a drive shaft, a'clutch for operatively connecting said acLv tuating mechanism to said shaft, a trip for disconnecting said clutch means when .the actuating mechanism has completed a cycle of operation, means for setting said trip, ksaid clutch including a driving and a driven member with means for over-throwing the latter at ythe end of the cycle of operations to" facilitate release of the clutch, and means for rendering the over-throwing means inoperative -until the clutch release device has been set to disconnect the clutch.

v4. A dispensing mechanism comprising a casing formed with a cylindrical valve chamber having an intake port and an outlet port in diametrically opposed position, a sleeve valve rotatable in the chamber, said sleeve valve having a slot therein adapted to open and close said ports successively as the sleeve is rotated, a closure for one end of the sleeve valve adjacent the slot, a plunger reciprocable in thesleeve valve toward and from said disposed respectively in diametrically op-v posed relation, aV sleeve Vvalve rotatable in said chamber and having a slot therein lying inthe plane of said ports, a transverse wall carried by and-closing thelendof the sleeve valve, thel plane of the inner face of said wall being slightly inwardly off-set with respect to the plane of the outer Wall of saidrslot, the inner face of said Wall being beveled to merge with the outer Wall of said slot, a plunger reciproeable in the sleeve valve, means for rotating the sleeve valve in timed relation to the reciproeation of the plunger, and means operating to retract the plunger While the intake port is uncovered by the slot and to advance the plunger against said Wall While the outlet port is uncovered.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification.

HARRY RUSSELL BRAND. 

